So the fifth season of The Office just ended and since I'm a rabid fan of the show I decided I would write a review. However if your expecting it right now I can't give it to you. That is because I'm actually going to go back and watch the entire season again and then write a somewhat "official review" I can say with experience that the office requires more than a single watch per episode to fully appreciate it.
What I do want to note are my initial feelings about this season and what I think it means for the show, and my perception of it.
Here is what I feel right now--These perceptions may change!
A. Dwight has changed too much. Post Angela break up he has become more level headed and even quasi "cool" at times. I'm not sure I understand this. I don't think hes nearly as funny now as he was when he was a complete fool.
B. Jim and Pam. They weren't nearly as fun to watch. I like the fact that the writers actually have them together and I hope it stays that way because it is highly original but what I don't like is how they forcefully injected the relationship with drama. I.E. Pam's parents splitting up, that was dumb, and what is worse is that it was resolved in 1 episode. I like the Office involving subplots that get solved over several episodes, something that Jim and Pam always was. It took them an ENTIRE season to get together, and I liked that because it seemed so natural. That is what evolving as a couple is, it takes time. I think the biggest problem with Jim and Pam is that they didn't explore that initial period of them "dating" we missed that over the summer pre season 4.
C. Not enough real office shenanigans. I know people will disagree with me here but I like the Office when it is seems almost real at times. I loved the episode the surplus for this reason. It was a simple plot with a start and an end in one episode and it portrayed the office workers realistically. Sometimes I feel the writers went a little bit overboard with plots this season. The die hard fans of the Office got into it for its subtleties and I wish the writers would keep it that way. They can't let the mock overtake the umentary.
D.The Andy Angela Dwight love triangle. It just fell flat for me. It seemed highly out of character for Angela to date Andy for so long and ever pretend to like him. The end was funny, but it was also a little over the top, and now Angelas character seems permanently flawed to me.
I felt like overall it was a good season, Initial score would be a B- and that is simply because I felt the show was good but overly Ambitious. I'm excited to see what a second run through will do for me.
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1 comment:
Ooh, ooh! I want to jump in too!
First, overall, I think Season 5 suuuuucked compared to other seasons. The last couple of episodes have started to bring back some of the kick-ass Office feel I know and love, which makes me happy, because I was definitely losing hope.
A. Dwight. He has changed. But I suggest that the lack of funny isn't so much because of his change as it is because of the lack of good situations for him to be so... Dwight. I imagine the current (and yes, sometimes bordering on cool) Dwight back in the dating Angela episodes, or back in the eps when Jim would do truly ridiculous pranks to him, and I think the "new" Dwight could be pretty damn funny in those situations. A different funny than when he was a total fool, but really funny all the same. But the writers gave him diddly squat to work with this season. If he had been total-fool Dwight, he'd probably have come off looking absurd in an unfunny way because it would clash so hard with the episode around him, if that makes sense. I blame the episodes and plot lines a lot more than I blame the changed Dwight.
B. Jim and Pam. I totally agree. I think skipping over their awkward-dating phase entirely was boneheaded. There would've been lots of good comedy fodder there. And I hate that they no longer do pranks together. I totally miss that. I loved, loved, loved the end of the finale episode this season, due 100% to the fact that the actors did a splendid job at making their reactions very human, very real, very charming-goofy-relatable, which has been the Jim/Pam strong point all along. I hope for more of that to come, because the maturer-less-goofy version of PBJ is boring.
C. Lack of real office stuff!! YES!! What made the Office so freaking hilarious in the beginning was that you could watch it and relate to it. Everyone knew of that guy in their office that was *such* a Dwight, or pranked like Jim, or had Stanley's completely detached attitude toward everything. And then watching those I-feel-like-I-work-with-them characters get into and out of various real-world-ish situations (amped up for TV of course) was hilarious. Watching Pam walk off the job with Michael in a "clearly stolen from Jerry Maguire" move? Not funny. Not moving. Just stupid. Watching Angela (Angela!) compete with Kelly for new boss Charles's affection? Totally out of character for Angela anyway, and again, not funny. Too obvious. Stupid. Bring back the real office highjinx!
D. The A-A-D triangle. YES. Lame. Angela and Andy were a horrible couple. Completely unbelievable even in Office-world. There was a hint of flirtation with Andy and Kelly in Disco Cafe, and I *love* that idea. Kelly is wacky and self-centered and completely self-unaware enough that she and Andy could be hilarious together in a way that Angela never was. And for pete's sakes, why not put Angela and Dwight back together? They're such loons individually that even if they were dating openly instead of being "sly" about it in the office, there's still plenty of room for hilarity, especially as compared to the Jim-Pam pairing.
Sidenote: I kind of loved Dwight's friend Rolf. I want Rolf to come work at the Office. Or work nearby so that he can be in more scenes with Dwight. He highlights Dwight's loony side and goes a bit further with it, forcing Dwight to look like the reasonable one--funny in itself. Like Angela used to be, Rolf is someone that lives in Dwight's universe with him, and Dwight needs someone else to inhabit Dwightland with him to make his character its funniest incarnation possible.
Whew. Here endeth. Looking forward to your views after rewatching the season!
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